I just recieved my shipment of 15 olive nerites for my 90 gallon community tank..........I've been fighting algae for about 2 months now and thought they would help...........Wow!....and do they !!....These snails are amazing for what they have done in the last 3 days to the algae on my rocks in my tank.......My question is once they have the algae under control should i keep all 15 in the tank or should i put some in my other tanks?.......I have, at the moment 5 other tanks i could put them in, but none that have an abundance of algae growth...........How many snails is too much for a tank?..........Is there some type of guideline to go by for snail population in a tank, or is it all based on food supply (algae) in the tank?..........Any info will be greatly appreciated!

Twistersmom

03-23-2009 08:11 AM

I have read 1 per every 2 gallons.
Not sure if that is realy a good number.
Moving them around to different takes would work.
I bought 6 for my 55gal, that went through a fishless cycle, I left the algea in there for the snails to clean up. They did do a great job, only a small amount of algea to be seen.
I started putting some Plaster of Paris Pucks in there, that I made for my mystery snails, also some zuchinni(sorry for spelling). I have seen them eating some of both. You may want to try supplementing there diet with other foods, if they have cleared the algea. From what I understand it can be hit or miss, some will only eat algea.

flight50

03-24-2009 11:46 AM

off topic kinda. what do you two have your ph set at. I want a few to help my 55g. but i read that if the ph is below 7.0 its too acidic and don't use them. my water is 6.6-6.8. i have hard water. off the charts hard.

Fishin Pole

03-24-2009 12:04 PM

i read the same thing about the Ph..............In this tank, the Ph hovers right around the 7.0 mark..........I have been keeping an eye on them for just such reason.....So far so good.........I find it remarkable on what they did to the algae in such a short time.........one of these guys will do the work of 3 otto's in my opinion.........Get some if you think it will work...........maybe someone else here will chime in with there experiences with them

Twistersmom

03-24-2009 02:40 PM

I would get some flight50.
I am thinking that lower ph is usually not hard and lacks the calcium snails need to retain hard shells.
I am no snail expert, so I could just be blowing smoke.
You can always add Kents calcium to your tank or make some of the Plaster of Paris Pucks to put in the tank.

flight50

03-25-2009 12:16 PM

thx. don't mean to post jack here. i will go ahead and get some considering they are pretty cheap. my otos aren't doing the trick either. have you all noticed these snails eating plant debris and decaying plants and the soft form of brush algae and not harm plants at the same time. my algaei comes off the leaves easily if i shake the leaves. looks like dirty fuzz. i recently bought the whole line of seachem since i think its nutrient related. but the snails can keep it in check. i prefer to add substitutes than to have unsightly algae. and these are the nerites that are impossible to breed in freshwater right.

Twistersmom

03-25-2009 03:24 PM

mine have not bothered my plants.
I have read a few people have had luck breeding them in fresh water, but lot likely to happen.

Fishin Pole

03-25-2009 04:58 PM

the research i have done about them tells me they are not plant eaters..........I have seen a few of the smaller ones i got on my one sword plant leaves and they did nothing but eat the algae off the leaves........In less than a week they have made a huge impact on the river stones in the middle of my 90.....

The egg laying will happen in freshwater from what i read, but then it states the eggs will not fully develop unless they are in a brackwater setup.......I was considering a 10 or 20 brackish setup and try to breed them, but i have never gone brackish or tried to breed snails so it would be an undertaking on my part, but the payoffs could be nice, because my shortime exposure to them has made me a big fan of them......

flight50

03-25-2009 06:29 PM

okay cool. i saw the same info. so for me not breeding is what i want. unlike the trumpet and ramshorns. Fish Pole have you relocated any yet. How many did you keep per gallon. what substitute for food have you all found that they like when algae in scarce.

Twistersmom

03-25-2009 08:10 PM

Mine are in brackish. They do lay eggs everywhere!
I leave the eggs alone, after a while the eggs seem to vanish, but I have not seen any new snails.